I'm Home Again
by GuitarWind45
Summary: Zack is still alive with the help of Cloud and his friends. He can finally return to Aerith after so long. Please R&R.
1. Chapter I: Heaven?

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything that has to do with Final Fantasy, but I wish I did.**

Welcome to my second fanfic. My first one being "Tell Me You Love Me" which was a oneshot, and I really appreciated you read it, its only 1,200 words long so it shouldn't take a while to read. This story takes place between Crisis Core and FFVII, so I guess I'm filling the gap. I hope you enjoy this story! I LOVE reviews, so please say something!

"**I'm Home Again**"

Chapter I: Heaven?

"Get his body in! We need to stop the bleeding!" I heard...

I struggled to open my eyes, but I managed to got them open for a split second to see a yellow chocobo... A talking chocobo? That can't be right. I guess the Promised Land has everything talking. Soon I felt like I was being lifted by three people. Angels?

"Hey!" I heard a demanding voice, "watch his head! Watch his head!"

I felt something hard hit the top of my head. Isn't heaven supposed to not hurt?

"Let's take him to the church in the slums!" Things are starting to sound clearer.

I felt something hard hit my head again and I grunted realizing now that I'm not in heaven.

"Dammit Barret!" I finally recognized the voice, "I told you to watch his head!"

"You need to stop carrying that damn sword around and start helping!" He heard someone say in a deeper voice.

Soon I felt like I was on a bed... It smelled nice... I remember this smell... Flowers... Soon I stopped thinking and drifted off...

"loooooo..." I barely heard.

"Huh?" I said

"elloooooo..." The voice was more clear.

Mom?

"Hellooooo..." Oh... This again...

I slowly opened my eyes, and I saw someone that I definitely remember...

I tried to speak, but nothing came out.

"You're awake!" I heard Aerith say.

"He's awake?"

"Finally! Can we leave now?"

"Shut up, Barret!"

I stood up, but slowly laid back down as I noticed a very horrible pain inside my body. I turned my head to see the chocobo... Wait, that's not right... I squinted my eyes, and I noticed he had a human figure... Cloud... Next to him was a black haired girl who I recognized has Tifa from Nibelheim. Then next to her was a guy with dark skin... and he was really big... Something wasn't right about his arm, but I couldn't see, my vision was still slightly blurred.

I turned my head and looked at Aerith, she wore a pink dress... She smiled at me...

"Welcome back," She said, then tears started rolling down her face.

"Aerith..." I finally said noticing a pain when I would speak.

"Shhhhhhh..." She said putting her hand on my forehead, "Don't talk."

I closed my eyes. Then opened them, my vision became much better so I blinked a few more times then looked around. I was inside the church, and I was laying in Aerith's flowerbed... I sniffed in the great smell then sighed. I turned my head to see Cloud and Tifa and the other guy. I noticed that the man's arm was a gun... A gun!

I screamed quietly, and tried to move, but it hurt... Never would I look at a gun the same way again.

"Zack," Cloud said coming over to me as I was freaking out, "It's okay, it's okay."

"Yeah, man," he saw the dark man coming over, so I tried to move away, "I ain't gonna hurt you."

He spread out his arms, then I saw how the gun was fused with his arm.

I grunted, then looked away closing my eyes.

"Come on Barret, let's just go," he heard Tifa say, "You coming Cloud?"

"No, I'm gonna stay for the night," he replied.

A few seconds later he heard the doors of the church close shut.

I sighed, ignoring any pain in my diaphragm. Then I drifted off to sleep.

"SOLDIER 1st Class Zack..." He heard that familiar voice.

"Angeal..." I said without feeling any pain, "What happened?"

"You were legally dead for a few years, good thing Cloud called his friends to carry your body over to your girlfriend, she basically saved you."

"...Sir," I said realizing that Aerith saved me again.

"Zack, Sephiroth is still alive."

"What!" I thought Cloud killed that bastard, "where is he?"

"I don't know where he is, but he's not in the Lifestream. Zack, I sense something bad is going to happen if you don't stop Sephiroth."

"What do I do?" I asked, he knew how much a threat Sephiroth was.

I heard no answer.

"Angeal?... ANGEAL!" My last call to my mentor hurt and I realized I was awake.

My head was wet from sweat. I looked out the hole in the ceiling and I realized it was still night time. I stood up ignoring any pain. I saw Cloud fast asleep on one of the pews snoring quietly. I realized that Angeal's buster sword was next to him on the ground. I remember giving it to him, and I kinda want it back, but I wasn't gonna ask for it. It would look good with him.

I smiled. Then I heard light breathing next to me, I turned to look who was there and I saw Aerith sleeping next to me quietly. I looked at her, she was really beautiful, I had almost forgotten how amazing she looked, I missed her a lot. I smiled at her sleeping peacefully.

I sat there for minutes admiring her, then he sighed looking around the church, he noticed a large brief case in the corner. He looked back at Aerith. He breathed in her hair, he missed the sweet smell.

"I promise I'll never leave you ever again Aerith," I whispered ignoring the pain.

Soon, her eyes started to close tighter, and she opened her mouth breathing heavily, she started to toss and turn. Then she let out a quiet scream. I looked at her in surprise.

"Aerith?" I whispered, her head kept moving, "Aerith!"

The pain of screaming hurt like hell, but I ignored it.

I started to shake her awake, I kept saying her name in worry. Then, she finally woke up. She was breathing heavily. She started sobbing then hugged me, despite the pain, it felt good to feel her close again.

"Hey, what happened?" I asked her worried.

She hesitated for a second, then said,

"I just had a dream," she bit her lip, "I saw Sephiroth."

"What?" My eyes widened, "Tell me-"

"I'll tell you about it tomorrow," she interrupted, she sighed, "Does it still hurt to talk?"

I shrugged,

"A bit," I said even though it hurt a lot.

"Okay," Aerith smiled, then tears started running down her face then she hugged me, "I missed you so much..."

I hugged her back and started crying myself.

"I promise I'll never leave you ever again..." I said to her.

She looked at me, then pressed her lips to mine...

We kissed for what seemed like an hour. I felt like all of my wounds have been healed and the pain went away.

We pulled away then I saw Aerith smile for the first time in a long time.

"I love you, Aerith," I said without feeling any pain.

My eyes opened in shock as I realized her healing powers worked when we kissed. I smiled.

That night me Aerith fell asleep on my chest, I looked at her with awe and stroked her hair. Then slowly drifted off to sleep. I was finally home again.


	2. Chapter II: An Angel's Nightmare

First of all I'd like to thank my reviews for chapter one. You guys gave me some great ideas for future chapters. And if you noticed the perspective problems in chapter one (Ex. Instead of saying "I" I wrote "he") I apologize for not reading over, I guess I learned my lesson. I'm so used to writing in 3rd person. So anyway, here's chapter 2! Enjoy! :) Please Read and Review! I LOVE reviews!

**Chapter II: An Angel's Nightmare**

I woke up to my grumbling stomach and I realized I hadn't eaten since I left Nibelheim. I stood up and I noticed Aerith wasn't on my chest sleeping peacefully, and Cloud wasn't on the pew. I rolled over then stood up so I didn't have to step on the flowers. I remember when Aerith yelled at me for doing so a while ago. I looked around and breathed in the Midgar air, it's been a while since I'd been here. I started to wonder where Cloud and Aerith were.

"Cloud?..." I called cupping my hands over my mouth, "Aerith?..."

I heard nothing but my echo throughout the church. I sighed with my hands on my hips then went to step outside. The floors creaked under me as I opened the squeaking church door. Then I stepped outside. I sat on one of the steps looking at the place. It got a lot dirtier over the years, but I managed to find some flowers around certain places. I guess Aerith's flower shop is successful.

"_Midgar full of flowers, your wallet full of money."_

I remember what I said to Aerith when I first met her, Hmmm, maybe she's rich. She got a new dress after all.

I stood up as I saw Cloud and Tifa walking towards the church. They waved to me.

"How are you feeling?" Cloud said when they finally reached me.

"I'm feeling a lot better," I said standing tall, "where's Aerith?"

"She's over at Seventh Heaven with some breakfast," said Tifa, "she told us to come get you."

"Great! I'm starving!" I jumped excitedly running to the restaurant even though I have no idea where it is.

"Hey slow down!" He heard Cloud call over to him, "Do you even know where to go?"

"No," I said looking back to see Cloud far back running to him, "but I'm starving! Hurry up! You're the slowest chocobo I've ever seen!"

"Is he always like this?" I heard Tifa say to Cloud. I laughed as I was running to wherever.

"Zack! Slow down, you're gonna choke!" Tifa kept saying as I was inhaling my breakfast.

"Bacon!" I said excitedly, "I haven't had this in so long!"

I scarfed down a strip of bacon then stuffed an egg in my mouth. Man did food taste so good! Everybody looked at me with their jaw dropped as if my mouth was a vacuum. I took a bite of toast, then reached over to Cloud's plate to grab some sausages which I dropped into my mouth with satisfaction. Everyone stopped eating their food as they were watching me, so I just took their plates and started eating some more.

"He eats more than you Barret!" Cloud said to his big friend.

"Boy! I bet he could win a hotdog eating contest for sure!" Barret said crossing his arms while watching me as I was eating heavily.

"Hotdogs!" I looked up from my food with wide eyes, "Where!"

"Hey man, calm down," Cloud said wide eyed as I continued eating.

Aerith tried hard not to laugh. She put her hand over her mouth as she watched me eat. I looked up at her with my mouth full then smiled. She looked away giggling, then I continued eating.

I finally noticed that everyone in the restaurant was looking at me, but that didn't stop me from eating!

"Who is that guy?" I heard someone say.

"Hey it's the ex-SOLDIER that we saw on the news," I paused from my eating when I heard that, "Isn't he supposed to be dead?"

"Yeah, I heard Sephiroth disappeared with him," I swallowed my food then took a drink of orange juice with a serious look on my face.

"Man, what I would give to bring Sephy back," I couldn't take it, they all thought Sephiroth was a hero, if only they knew, "He was the best SOLDIER ever."

Sephiroth? The best SOLDIER ever? More like a traitor. I stood up and looked behind me to see the guy that was talking. I walked over to him, then he stepped back a few feet.

"Hey man, what's your problem?" He said as his legs were shaking.

I grabbed his shirt then pulled him to my face.

"Zack!" I heard my friends yell.

"Now you listen to me," I said angrily with gritted teeth not taking my eyes off of the man, "Sephiroth is dead..."

I lied.

"Sephiroth is a traitor!" I said raising the volume on the word 'traitor', "He deserved to die."

"That's bull!" The guy retorted no longer as scared. I gripped him closer.

"Ever hear about the wildfire in Nibelheim?" I asked remembering the horrible fire caused by Sephiroth himself.

"Nibelheim?" The man chuckled grinning, "What kind of a stupid name is that?"

I pulled my fist back for a punch which caused the man to change his expression. Just as I was about to punch his sorry ass in the face, I felt a hand on my shoulder.

"Zack, that's enough."

I turned my head to see Aerith with a disappointed look on her face. My angry face soon turned to sad, then I put my fist down and let the man go. I heard whispers from the other people.

"Let's just go," she said holding my arm with both of her hands.

I sighed then I agreed to go with her. I heard Tifa apologizing to the man about my behavior.

Aerith led me to a little kids park, then she sat on top of a catlike dome. I joined her. We watched as some kids were running around playing. There was never much energy in the slums, but at least there was some here. I sighed and looked at Aerith.

"Hey, I'm sorry back there, I couldn't control myself," I looked at her with sorrowful eyes.

She shrugged then smiled.

"It's okay," she said watching the kids play tag.

"EEEEEWWWWW!"

I looked behind me to find a little kid with dirt on his face pointing at Aerith.

"She's got girl germs!" He said sticking out his tongue out in disgust, then he ran away after his friend tagged him.

I looked at Aerith to see her giggling, then she put her head on my shoulder. I stroked her hair.

"So can you tell me about your dream?" I asked finally remembering.

She took her head off my shoulder then smiled lightly.

"It's..." She hesitated biting her lip, "It's nothing."

"Hey!" I said, "you promised you'd tell me."

"I did not!" She said her eyes open wide.

"Well... Can you tell me?" I asked with my puppy eyes hoping it would work, "Pleeeeeaaaase!

She looked at me giggling.

"You know you can't say no to these eyes," I said making them bigger.

She sighed.

"Well..." She began.

I pumped my fist in triumph as the puppy eyes worked, then I looked at her.

"It was just a dream..." She sighed then looked out, "What happened was..."

She paused for a few seconds. I tapped my fingers impatiently... Aerith bit her lip.

"Well, what happened was... Sephiroth..."

I sighed knowing that every word is gonna come out one by one with 30 seconds in between them.

"He... he killed me," She finished finally looking up at me.

I looked at her understandingly, then nodded. She put her chin on her hands, then closed her eyes. I put my arm around her.

"Hey," I said nudging her to look into my eyes, "last night I said I promise that I'll never leave you ever again."

She nodded her head, then smiled her cute smile.

"You better not," she said punching my arm.

"I prooooooooomise," I said punching her arm back lightly.

She punched me again, but it was harder that time. I grinned then lifted my arm to punch her back, but she put her hands in front of her in attempt to guard herself.

"Don't punch me!" She said laughing.

I laughed with her, then looked down to see the kids still playing tag. I got an idea.

I tapped her arm then jumped off the cat dome running away.

"Tag!" I said laughing as she was surprised.

I ran a little faster.

"I'm gonna get you Zack Fair!" She called playfully as she jumped down then started running at me.

I avoided her as much as I can, but I finally got tired and she tagged me, then I tagged her right back.

"No tag backs!" She said laughed while sticking her tongue out at me.

I smiled as she ran away. She looked back at me, then I started running towards her.

"You're not getting away from me!" I yelled as I ran not too fast after her.


	3. Chapter III: Welcome to AVALANCHE

**Disclaimer: Guess what, if I owned Final Fantasy VII and it's Compilations, Zack would've lived for real and joined Cloud on his quest. But! I don't own crap! :P**

**Chapter III: Welcome to AVALANCHE**

I followed Tifa downstairs of Seventh Heaven. I wanted to live with Aerith, but what would her mom think? So I agreed to stay at Tifa and Barret's place. She led me to a small room.

"Hopefully this is big enough," She told me, "Make yourself at home."

"Thanks again for letting me stay Tifa," I said realizing that this was way too much.

She made a 'you're welcome' smile, then she went outside the room.

I sat on the bed then brushed the sheets. I can't remember the last time I slept in a bed. I couldn't wait to sleep in it. I stood up and went over to the mirror which was on the other side of the room. I gave a smile when I saw myself. Black spiky hair, sexy face. I was gorgeous.

I started to flex my arm muscles and posed making different facial expressions. I smiled at myself then crossed my arms. I turned around to see Cloud speechless. I stepped back in surprise then scratched the back of my head making an awkward laugh.

"Ummm," I said as I felt my face burning up, "How much of that did you see?"

Cloud just stared at me, so I turned my eyes in a different direction.

"Barret wants to have a meeting," he said ignoring the question I asked, then exited the room closing the door behind him.

I sighed then lied down on the bed. The pillow was comfortable, I almost fell fast asleep, but the door opened again. Now what? I stood up and saw Cloud enter again.

"Ummm..." He began reaching towards the back of his shoulder, then pulled out the buster sword, "I won't be needing this anymore. Besides, it's yours."

He unsheathed the large sword and handed it to me, I took it. He gave a light smile.

"It was too heavy for me anyway," he explained, "I guess I'll stick to guns."

I nodded in understanding. I put the sword down, then I stood up to hug my friend. He hugged back.

"Come up as soon as you're ready," Cloud said when we broke the hug, then he walked out.

I sat back down on the bed and looked at Angeal's sword. I sighed, then walked over to the mirror.

I made a fighting stance then slashed both ways. I smirked. Then I spun the sword up high and sheathed it on my back easily. I smiled, I missed my old pose. I played the victory song in my head, I remembered it would play every time I would complete a mission in SOLDIER. I hummed the simple tune.

I then remembered about the meeting so I took a deep breath and exited the room.

"Okay everybody, gather around, gather around," Barret instructed as I came up for the meeting.

Everyone sat around the bar area, and Barret stood on the other side holding a map.

"So we're gonna ride the Midgar train up to Sector 7's Mako reactor," He said pointing with his gun hand to a place on the map. I guess I got used to his arm by now. I sat down on the far seat of the bar next to Tifa. Then I noticed the map that Barret was holding was a map of Sector 7.

"We will get out of the train here," He explained pointing to and open edge of the reactor's map spot, "We'll take out any of the guards there, and then Cloud and Zack will go in first, we'll stay outside of the reactor for any reinforcements that might come."

I was confused, I had no idea what they were talking about. What are we doing at the reactor?

"You two are gonna get to the reactor, plant the bomb, then get your asses out of there as fast as you can. The alarms are gonna go off, so fight off any guards in your way, don't worry, we'll be there to help you."

I scratched the back of my head in confusion.

"Okay, wait!" I said standing up from my chair, "Can you explain to me what is going on?"

"Oh hey there Zack," Barret said laughing. I guess he didn't notice me, "now that you're here, we wanted to ask you something."

I sighed.

"Okay, what is it?" The three looked at me and then Cloud spoke.

"We want you to join AVALANCHE," He said, "I just joined, but we're basically a group that is planning to shut down Shinra, and their Mako reactors."

My mouth hit the floor when I heard that. What has gotten into Cloud? Since when did he start hating Shinra?

"Zack, I know you consider yourself a SOLDIER," Barret spoke, "But they are the enemy, they're your enemy, they almost killed you."

I nodded my head in understanding.

"And if you're wondering why we're planning to blow up the reactor," Tifa began, "Is that the reactors are draining the planet's Mako energy. If we don't stop them, then the planet is gonna die. Shinra is killing the planet..."

"And we want your help," Cloud finished.

I thought for a bit. Would he have to kill any one of his friends in SOLDIER? Is the planet really worth saving? What happens if we get caught?

"Think about your future children," Barret said interrupting my thoughts, "I have a daughter named Marlene, and I want her to see a future. I don't want her to live in a world full of dirt and mud... More like happiness... Do you get what I'm saying?"

I nodded. What if I had children with Aerith?... Those children would be beautiful, and I would love for them to live a good life. I sighed, then looked at the others, and smiled.

"Okay," I said, "I'll join AVALANCHE."

I looked out the window of the Midgar train and saw the huge tower of the Shinra Co. building.

"_I'll make 1st in no time!"_

I smiled at that memory.

"_Embrace your dreams... If you want to be a hero, you gotta have dreams..."_

Angeal... He always old me to have dreams... If I wanted to be a hero...

"Angeal..." I said quietly closing my eyes tightly, "Am I doing the right thing?"

"_Embrace your dreams... And whatever happens... Protect your honor... As SOLDIER!"_

I opened my eyes to look at the Shinra building, but all I saw was brick. I guess we entered through a tunnel.

I felt a hand on my shoulder and turned around to see Cloud.

"You doing okay?" He asked.

I looked down at the floor and nodded my head.

"We're approaching the reactor soon, so Barret said to get ready," He explained and I nodded, "...Angeal would be proud of you."

"Psh! For what?" I said angrily, "I almost died that day! I was just like any other SOLDIER! Nobody saw me as 1st class anyway..."

"Zack," Cloud said calmly, "Without you... I wouldn't have survived back there..."

My anger soon faded, then I looked at Cloud understandingly.

"I would've been another one of Hojo's experiments if you hadn't saved me... So... Thanks."

I smiled at him.

"And thank YOU," I said with an emphasis, "...for not leaving me there. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have another chance to see Aerith again."

Cloud chuckled a little, then sighed.

"Hey man, can you keep a secret?" He said in a low volume.

"Of course, you can trust me," I said excited, I love secrets.

"Okay," Cloud said looking around, then got closer to me so I leaned in to listen, "Well... You know Tifa right?"

I smiled, then laughed.

"Let me guess," I said laughing, "You're in love with her."

I put a nice emphasis on the word 'love'.

"Shhhhh!" Cloud shushed looking around, "I don't want her to hear!"

I laughed.

"Well I ain't surprised," I said looking over at Tifa who was talking with Barret, "She's a real cutie. Remember her cowgirl outfit in Nibelheim?"

Cloud sighed then made his hand as a fan for his face.

"Yeah, I remember," He said with his eyes wide open looking at Tifa, "DAMN was she hot!"

I laughed as Cloud was getting aroused. The boy was growing up. I remembered when he was just a simple teenager wanting to become a SOLDIER. Now... Well, lets just say he's growing.

"Well if you need any help with her..." I said punching his arm to get his attention, "You know who to call."

Cloud chuckled.

"Thanks," he said as he turned his attention back to Tifa.

I started to think about Aerith. I wondered how she was doing. So I took out my cellphone and dialed her number. It rung a few times over the phone then she picked up.

"Hello?" I heard Aerith say over the phone.

"Hey Aerith," I greeted smiling, "Heaven's lost one of their angels, but I think I just found her."

Aerith giggled.

"If you're looking for Aerith, then you could have said so," I realized that it was Aerith's mom, "I'm sorry sir, but she's out selling flowers."

"O-okay," I said hanging up in embarrassment. Her voice sounds almost exactly like Aerith's...

I sighed. Then laughed at myself shaking my head. I learned my lesson. Always ask for the person I want to talk to first.

"Okay guys, we're at the reactor," I heard Barret say, "Get ready to rock n' roll!"

I went up to the door of the train with Cloud. I unsheathed my sword, and I heard Cloud's rifle click as he loaded it.

"Okay guys," Barret said quietly so the other passengers won't hear, "As soon as the doors open, we're attacking, and don't worry, the passengers got out the other way, so we'll be alright."

I nodded. Then waited for the doors to open.

"I hope you're watching me Angeal," I said quietly, then the doors slid open.

I ran outside and attacked the nearest guard. I heard the rifle shots from Cloud. Then I saw Tifa and Barret beating up the guards at the entrance. I saw Barret shoot his arm gun at one of the SOLDIERS after he knocked him down down.

I saw blood everywhere.

I finished off the guy by stabbing him. Blood came out of his mouth as he desperately tried to escape. Soon his body went limp. I took the bloody sword out and looked at it horrified... Is this what AVALANCHE does? Kill innocent lives?


	4. Chapter IV: An Old Friend

**Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy and its compilations... Doh! And I don't own the Simpsons either.**

**Chapter IV: An Old Friend**

"Okay Spikeys!" Barret said to me and Cloud, "Get to the reactor and plant the bomb. Me and Tifa will be here in case of any reinforcements. We'll be waiting for you, and be fast!"

Me and Cloud nodded then went inside the entrance. The smell of the building inside reminded me a lot of being in SOLDIER. I didn't know why, but it did. Cloud must think so too. Cloud was busy decoding the facility's security doors, so I really had nothing to do. Boredom was getting the best of me at the last door as I started to tap my feet.

"Zack!" Cloud said irritated by the repeating sound of my foot, "Do you mind?"

I tapped my foot even faster so I could annoy the hell out of Cloud. But he kept his focus and eventually got the door to open.

"Finally, Cloud..." I said in an old man's voice, "I've been growing a beard over here."

Cloud gave me an irritated look and walked through the open door. I finally realized that Cloud wasn't in the mood to mess around, so I put my hand on his shoulder to apologize, but Cloud just shook it off. Cloud sure took this mission very damn seriously.

"Hey, c'mon buddy," I said as Cloud continued to walk ahead, "I was joking."

"Hurry up so we can plant the bomb and get out of here," Cloud said firmly, finally turning around, but then continued onward right away.

I scratched the back of my head then ran up to catch up to him. The mission with AVALANCHE had me remembering me ad Cloud's first mission together in Nibelheim. Ever since then, I felt Cloud's presence to be comforting. I felt like I wasn't alone. As we continued to get to the reactor, we came across a thin pipe that connected to a bigger pipe that had a ladder next to it leading to the reactor. I looked at the thin pipe surprised, then let out a sigh. At least Barret wasn't here.

"I'll go first," I said putting my weight on the edge of the pipe to see if t could hold me up. Sure enough, it was sturdy and I started to walk across it trying to keep my balance. When I was halfway, I heard Cloud's light footsteps behind me. I felt like turning around to see him, but it might cause me to lose my concentration, and maybe Cloud's as well. I felt my heart race, and I was soon sweating. I looked down past the pipe and saw how far up I was. I closed my eyes tightly and tired not to look down again. Soon enough I was right at the edge where it connected to the large pipe then I jumped off onto it. I looked at Cloud as he concentrated real hard. I took a deep breath and prayed that he wouldn't fall off. I looked at the ladder and put my hand on it trying to turn my attention from Cloud so I wouldn't freak myself out. Then I heard Cloud scream out. Then turned my head to see his arms flailing. I ran over and grabbed his arm before he could fall. Then I pulled him over to the large pipe. He stood up with his hands on his knees.

"Thanks," He said breathing heavily. It almost looked like he was about to cry. I couldn't blame him. What if I wasn't there to save him in time?

I patted his back then asked him if he wanted to go down the ladder first, he declined so I went down first. I kept thinking about how Cloud could have died, but I shook it out of my head and continued to climb down. As soon as I made it, I saw three Shinra SOLDIERS. I blocked their gunshots with my sword swiftly, then went up to one of them and slashed him horizontally across the chest. Then I kicked him into the other two SOLDIERS and as soon as I was about to finish them off, I saw bullets go into them. I turned around to see Cloud holding his rifle in one hand with his other hand still on one of the ladder bars. He then jumped down and we continued to walk towards the Mako reactor which was on the other side of a long path. We ran towards it, but more SOLDIERS emerged causing us to slow down, but me and Cloud finished them off easily. When we reached the reactor, Cloud started to set the bomb while I watched to make sure there weren't any SOLDIERS to stop them.

I tapped my foot impatiently, but I stopped when Cloud smacked my arm as he was irritated. I sighed then looked around the place. Is Shinra even gonna stop draining the planet's energy once we blow up the reactor? They're a big company with a lot of SOLDIERS. I started to think about Sephiroth. Is he really alive?

"Okay, let's go!" He heard Cloud say as he ran ahead of him. I ran with him. He started shooting at some hidden guards that I didn't see. Then I heard the alarms go off. Next thing I realized was a large thud right behind me. I looked at Cloud, but he was already turned around looking at something, that I guessed was large, with is mouth wide open. I then turned around and saw a large robotic scorpion towering over our heads. I looked at Cloud smiling.

"Get ready to fight your first boss my little chocobo," I said as his he had an 'oh ****!' look on his face.

The giant scorpion brought back so many memories from when I fought other bosses way bigger than this. It was great to be fighting guys like these again, but it felt even better now that I get to fight them with my buddy Cloud.

Cloud started shooting his rifle at the giant monster while I took care of the SOLDIERS behind him. I remember how I used to fight alone, with almost little or no help from anybody, but having a partner with me felt like I didn't have to fight battles alone anymore. It's as if at this moment right now, we were fighting back to back.

"Zack! Watch out!" I turned around to see a laser from the scorpion's 'stinger' sweep the floor and was about to hit me, but I jumped out of the way just in time. I looked back at the SOLDIERS I was fighting, and there was one left in the middle of a sea of dead bodies. I pointed my sword at him smirking then he ran away dropping his gun. I turned around to see Cloud still fighting the scorpion. The laser hit Cloud, and he fell back.

"C'mon Cloud!" I said playfully, "You can't even beat this guy?"

"Well I'd like to see your ass try!" He said angrily as he tried to stand up. Damn, what's his problem today? I looked at the large scorpion and thought out a plan. If I take out the legs, it'll fall, and the bigger they are... The harder they fall. I charged at the front leg and cut it diagonally. I saw the leg drop. It was still standing. So I took out the leg on the same side as the one I just sliced. The machine started to lose its balance as it was moving toward the edge of the path.

"Buh bye!" I said as it fell off and into the bottom of who knows where. I went over to where the machine previously was and took the mechanical leg. I shoved it in my pocket.

"Zack!" He heard Cloud yell at him, "Hurry up! The bomb is gonna blow soon!"

I finally remembered about the bomb and I ran towards the ladder with Cloud. We climbed up quickly and realized we had to clear the thin pipe again. I cursed, but then Cloud ran quickly across it. He waited on the other side.

"Dammit Cloud!" I yelled, but then I decided to try to jump across it. I went as far back as I could then ran towards the edge of the large pipe, then I leaped high into the air, but I missed the other side by a foot. I screamed out loud then I felt Cloud grab onto my hand then pulled me up. I briefly thanked him and we ran towards the entrance, but then there was a SOLDIER in our way. I recognized him.

"Freeze!" He ordered, but I recognized that voice anywhere.

"Kunsel!" I yelled, " It's me, Zack Fair."

I then heard gunshots from Cloud and bullets enter Kunsel's chest.

"No!" I yelled running over to my former SOLDIER friend, "Kunsel!"

"Zack!" Cloud said yelling at him, "We have to go NOW!"

"Zack..." Kunsel barely said as blood was coming out of his mouth, "It's good to see you again..."

"Kunsel..." I said, "I'm not leaving you here."

I picked Kunsel up and put him over my shoulder then started to run out of the building with Cloud. As we ran out, Barret and Tifa were waiting by the door. I looked behind me and saw the reactor blow up. I ran out before the explosion could reach me.

"Let's go spikeys!" Barret said then he noticed the SOLDIER I was holding, "You better explain, but not now. Let's get on the train."

"But Barret-" Tifa said but was interrupted.

"Don't worry about the rendezvous point Tifa," Barret said interrupting, "With that dead looking SOLDIER with us, people will think we're taking him to the hospital. Nobody will suspect us."

I nodded, then followed the gang onto the train. I heard Kunsel grunt.

"Don't worry man," I said to him, "I know somebody that'll fix you up."

I got out my cellphone and dialed in Aerith's number as I sat down on the train. I put Kunsel on the seat as the phone was ringing on the other side.

"Hey, Zack!" I heard Aerith say over the phone. I knew it was Aerith, but I didn't wanna take any chances.

"This is Aerith right?" I asked even though it was definitely Aerith this time.

"Mhm," She said cheerfully, "Do you need anything?"

"Yeah," I said looking at Kunsel as he moved his head around, "Can you head over to Seventh Heaven? I have someone here from SOLDIER, and he's wounded."

"Really? Who is it?"

"It's Kunsel."

"Okay, I'll be on my way," She said sweetly then hung up.

I looked at Cloud who was sitting across from me on the train. He had a serious look on his face. Was he still mad about earlier?

"Hey man," I said when he looked over at me with his Mako eyes, "Sorry about back at the reactor. I didn't know I would've irritated you THAT much."

Cloud looked at me understandingly then smiled. I still have my friend.

"It's all good," He replied, "but I should be sorry for going off on you."

I reached over and ruffled his hair like a dog.

"You're still my little chocobo," I said, "Oh yeah! This is for you."

I remembered about the scorpion machine, and took out the mechanical leg out of my pocket. Then I handed it to Cloud.

"Here's a souvenir for beating your first boss," I said then he looked at me as if it was crazy, "Well... That _we_ beat up."

Cloud looked at the leg. It had a few wires sticking out of it.

"By the way," He said standing up from his seat, "You're kinda heavy, lay off on the food okay?"

We laughed then we hugged a manly hug.

**Hope you enjoyed that chapter. And I'm sorry for all the people who expected Jessie, Biggs, Wedge, etc.. I just didn't have enough time to put them in the story, but I can almost guarantee that they'll show up later. Thank you for reading and don't forget to review!**


	5. Chapter V: The Promise

**Disclaimer: If I was the owner of Square Enix, do you know what I will do? Huh? Huh? I don't know what I'll do :P because I own nothing that has to do with them including Final Fantasy VII and the quotes that I'm about to use in this chapter.**

Sorry for not updating as soon as I usually do. I had band practice and we're writing some songs and stuff, and I also was busy finishing Crisis Core! About time right? Haha, it was really sad at the end, I ALMOST cried! But I didn't :P. So yeaaaaah... Enjoy! :D

**Chapter V: The Promise (Cloud's Point of View)**

"The mission was a success," Barret said to the group as we got off the train, "But don't get lazy now. I hope ya'll weren't scared of that explosion, because the next one is gonna be even bigger!"

"Alright!" Zack yelled in excitement jumping up and down.

We headed for Seventh Heaven bar, then Zack came up to me with Kunsel over his shoulder. I looked at the SOLDIER in apology.

"Sorry about your friend," I said pointing to Kunsel.

Zack chuckled then patted my back. He looked at me then messed up my hair.

"Kunsel will be alright," He said after the SOLDIER moaned, "just be careful where you shoot that gun."

I remembered fighting that giant scorpion. I don't think I was cut out for any long range shooting. I think I'll leave that to Barret. Half the time I couldn't get anybody at the reactor.

"Yeaaaahhhh..." I said scratching the back of my head, "I don't think guns are my thing."

Zack just looked at me and laughed.

"Cloud," He said putting his hand on my shoulder and laughing at the same time, "when I told you to be my living legacy, that doesn't mean you can actually be ME."

I laughed awkwardly with him. To be totally honest, that's what I thought I was supposed to do. We soon arrived at Seventh Heaven and we saw Aerith inside waiting for Zack. He greeted her and kissed her on the cheek, then he set Kunsel down on the floor. Surprisingly, there was nobody in here. Barret probably scared all the people out of here so they won't be able to see us after they watch any news about the bombing of the Make reactor.

I watched as Aerith put her hand on Kunsel's head, the same way she did with Zack, in attempt to heal his wounds. The blood started to stop coming out of his body, and he was soon breathing normally.

"Hey," Zack said to the SOLDIER, "Kunsel, you feeling any better?"

"Never better," He said in a relieved voice, "I feel... Great."

He stood up. I looked at him surprised. Why hadn't Zack healed that quickly when he was injured? Aerith set him down.

"You still need to rest," She told him, as Barret came with a little girl on his shoulder, Marlene.

Barret looked at Kunsel closely.

"Is this another former SOLDIER like you spikeys?" He asked looking at me and Zack.

"I'm not a former SOLDIER," Kunsel said to Barret, "I am in SOLDIER."

I looked over at Tifa who was whispering to Barret.

"We can't... him... but he's... Barret..." I heard her say through her whispers. Then Barret pointed his gun at Kunsel.

"Barret!" Tifa yelled getting in front of the SOLDIER, "We can't kill him!"

"Move Tifa," He said as I heard a click from his gun, "He's still loyal to SOLDIER."

"That doesn't mean he can't change!" Zack demanded as he also came in front of Barret's line of fire. I started to get worried because nobody EVER gets in Barret's way. I started to hear Marlene cry as she witnessed her father's pursuit in trying to kill someone.

"Barret please..." Tifa began as she lowered Barret's gun down, "Not in front of Marlene."

He looked at Marlene then back at Tifa.

"Papa!" Marlene said as she started hugging her dad's leg.

"Marlene..." He said stroking her hair. Then he put her on his shoulder then went downstairs.

They weren't genetically a real family, but they are in their hearts. I want to experience having a family. Then I remembered why I came to AVALANCHE in the first place. I went downstairs with Tifa to see Barret as he was tickling Marlene. He saw me.

"Hey Cloud," He said as he refrained from tickling Marlene, "I know you're planning to leave after I pay you, but we would love it if you continued to work for us."

"I don't care about Shinra," I said honestly but firmly, "and I don't care about the planet or AVALANCHE. I'm going upstairs, I wanna talk about my money."

I turned around then I saw Tifa standing there blocking my way. As much as I loved her, I have to leave her.

"Cloud wait," She said stopping me.

"Let him go Tifa," Barret said.

I went upstairs and walked towards the door, but then I felt soft hand grab my shoulder.

"Cloud," I turned around to see Tifa, "I'm asking you to please join us."

"I'm sorry Tifa," I apologized coldly shaking my head and going towards the door again.

"So! You're really leaving!" She said as I put my hand on the doorknob, "You're just gonna walk out ignoring your childhood friend!"

I stopped.

"You forgot the promise too..." She said then I turned around to see her looking at the floor.

"Promise?" I really forgot, I pretty much erased everything from my mind since I joined SOLDIER. I looked at Tifa as tears started rolling down her face. She shook her head slowly.

"So you... did forget..." She said looking away from me, "don't you remember, Cloud? It was seven years ago..."

Did she really expect me to remember something from that long? But I tried to remember anyway.

"The well..." She said, "Do you remember?"

I thought for a second then it all came back to me. I nodded my head.

"Yeah, back then," I said looking at her, "I was getting a little cold... I thought you'd never come."

She nodded her head at me then let out a small smile. It was beautiful the way she smiled at me.

"_Sorry I'm late," Tifa said as she came up behind me on the well. She sat next to me, "You said you wanted to talk to me about something?"_

"_Come this spring..." I said to her, "I'm leaving this town for Midgar."_

"_...All the boys are leaving this town."_

"_I'm different... I'm not just leaving to find a job," I stood up and turned to her, "I want to join SOLDIER. I'm gonna be the best there is, just like Sephiroth!"_

"_Sephiroth," She said as I started to go on top of the well," The great Sephiroth... Isn't it hard to join SOLDIER?"_

"_I probably won't be able to come back to this town for a while," I finally reached the top of the well then I stood up tall._

"_Will you be in the newspapers if you do well?" She asked._

"_I'll try."_

"_Hey," She said looking back at me, "Why don't we make a promise?"_

_I looked at her confused._

"_Umm, if you get really famous and I'm ever in a bind... You come save me alright?"_

"_What?"_

"_Whenever I'm in trouble, my hero will come and rescue me. I want to at least experience that once."_

"_What?" Now I was really confused, who said I was gonna be a hero?_

"_Come on!" She demanded quietly looking back at me, "Promise me?"_

"_All right..." I said looking at her, "I promise."_

_We both looked at the sky and saw a shooting star._

I nodded my head at the memory, then I looked at Tifa.

"You remember now, don't you?" She said, "...Our promise?"

I thought hard trying to talk my way out of the promise.

"I'm not a hero and I'm not famous. I can't keep the promise."

"But you got your childhood dream didn't you!" She said looking at me frustrated, "You joined SOLDIER."

I scratched the back of my head. There's no way out now.

"So come on!" She said with her hands on her hips, "You've got to keep your promise..."

"Wait a sec, SOLDIER!" I heard Barret say as he came up to us, "A promise is a promise... here"

He reached into his pocket, and threw whatever it was at the ground in front of me. I bent down and picked up the 1,500 gil.

"This is my pay?" I said looking at the money grinning, "Don't make me laugh."

I looked at Tifa as she had a surprised look on her face.

"I'll do the next mission for 3,000 gil," I said to Barret.

"What!" He said surprised. Then I saw Tifa run up to him.

"It's okay Barret," She said trying to comfort him. Then I heard them whisper to each other. I heard Barret say something about Marlene's school money. Then Barret walked towards downstairs.

"2,000!" He said to me. Then I chuckled and nodded. Tifa came up to me and hugged me. I blushed.

"Thanks Cloud," She said, then at the corner of my eye I saw Zack pump his fist at me.


	6. Chapter VI: Hate Leads to Suffering

**Disclaimer: Okay... What should I say that's creative in this disclaimer?... Final Fantasy VII I do not own. Its compilations neither are mine. The ways of SOLDIER you must learn young padawan. "Sephiroth, I am your mother... Jenova!". "NO! It's not true!". Okay, what now? Does that mean Tifa is Cloud's sister? ! That's awkward! Lol that's enough, and I don't own Star Wars either, George Lucas does. Playstation belongs to Sony.**

Enjoy the story! And PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE if you have ANYTHING to say, just review! Haha and I'd like to thank those who already reviewed, you guys rule!

**Chapter VI: Hate Leads to Suffering (Zack's Point of View)**

"Good morning baby," I heard a sweet voice say and I slowly opened my eyes. It was Aerith, she was on my bed in the room that Tifa gave me in her Seventh Heaven bar. She moved me upstairs so that she could have more room for her restaurant needs. Aerith slept with me last night, and it was great. Hopefully her mom won't find out.

"Good morning angel," I said pulling her body into mine. I laid a light kiss on her, I hope I don't have morning breath, but she returned the kiss right back. She let out a light moan, and grabbed my head kissing me harder. I rolled her over so that I was on top. We giggled then I pressed my lips on to hers. We moaned through our kisses in pleasure. I then started to kiss her neck, and she moaned out loud.

"Zack..." She whispered lightly as I continued kissing her neck. I licked it a couple times which caused her to giggle lightly. Her legs were around my waist, and I had my hands on her hips, I rubbed Aerith's body which made her moan lightly. Then, I started to kiss down further... That's when we hear the door open.

"Hey Zack, there's breakfast downsta-" Cloud stopped what he was saying when he turned his head, wide eyed to see us in a sort of sex position. Me and Aerith looked at him awkwardly, I could feel myself turning red.

"Ummm..." Cloud hesitated as we were still in the same position, "Just come downstairs you guys."

He walked back out and closed the door behind him.

"Alright he's gone," I said excitedly kissing her again, but she pushed me back.

"Nope," She said giggling.

"C'mon..." I started to kiss her between my words, "Please? Just a few more minutes."

I started to give her my puppy eyes, and she giggled, but she got out of bed and held out her hand smiling. I smiled back and took the hand. We walked downstairs together. Although me and Aerith had already done _it _last night, she was still very hard to resist to do it in the morning. She had grown a woman's body when I was gone. When we walked downstairs we saw everybody looking at us, and they were chuckling. Dammit Cloud. He must have told everyone what happened upstairs. We sat down at a table with the rest of the gang.

"Did you guys use protection?" Was the first thing I heard from Tifa when we sat down. She giggled, "I couldn't sleep because of you guys."

Cloud and Barret chuckled through their food. I made a fake laugh and started eating.

"Good morning to you too," I said sarcastically with a mouth full of food, but then I laughed right after. I looked over at Aerith who was smiling trying not to laugh.

"Okay guys, let me fill you in on today's mission," Barret said wiping his mouth with a napkin. I then realized he had a mechanical hand, "We're going for Sector 5, same plan as yesterday."

"Ooh, can I come," I looked over at Aerith who was excited. There was no way in hell that I was gonna let her anywhere near Shinra. I opened my mouth to protest, but I was interrupted.

"Yeah, that would be great!" I looked over at Tifa, "What if one of us gets hurt? She'll be there to help us heal and stuff like that."

"No," I said firmly, "Aerith, you can't go. Do you know what they'll do to you if they see that you're there?"

"Who's 'they'" Barret asked.

"Shinra!" I said angrily which threw back the big man, "Who else? They've been chasing Aerith for years."

"Zack," I felt Aerith's hand on my shoulder, "I wanna help."

I sighed softly and looked at her. Her eyes told me that she really wanted to go.

"Shinra won't get me," Aerith said, "I know for sure they can't get to me."

"How do you know that?" I asked frustrated. She smiled at me in attempt to comfort me.

"I know that because..." She made a pause and smiled at me, "My hero will be there to protect me..."

I looked at Cloud and Tifa who smiled at each other. I looked back at Aerith who looked at me with pleading eyes. I sighed.

"Fine, you can go," She kissed me lightly on the cheek, "but don't you dare leave my side."

"I should be telling _you_ that!" She said, "but thanks anyway."

I hope nothing bad will happen to her. I will protect her with my life.

"_I promise I will never leave you ever again..."_

I've got to keep that promise.

"Hey! Get that battle droid!" I ordered Cloud as we were trying to pass the time by playing Star Wars Battlefront II.

"Dammit! I died!" Cloud yelled in anger.

"Oh yeah! Obi Wan Kenobi!" I yelled in excitement, "Holy crap it's Darth Maul!"

"Agh! Effing droidekas man!" Cloud said as he died again.

"This is what you get for killing Qui Gon!" I said as I tried to beat Darth Maul and his double saber, "Yes! YES!... I got you now!... ****ING B****! I ****ing hate you Darth Maul!"

"Zack!" I dropped the controller and turned my head to Barret who looking at me angrily, "Marlene is here!"

"Oh," I said as my face started to turn red, "sorry."

"Hey dude! I got Darth...whatever his name is!" Cloud said in triumph, "I got the flag!"

"Capture it!" I said picking my controller back up.

"I'm almost..." Cloud's thumbs were moving at the speed of light on the controller, "I'm almost there!... ****! ****ing ***hole!"

"Cloud!" Barret screamed as he covered Marlene's ears while walking out of the room.

"Sorry sorry."

I looked at the screen trying to get the flag. Then Tifa walked right in front of the screen.

"Hey hey hey!" Me and Cloud started protesting trying to move your heads to see the screen.

"That's quite enough boys," She said as she bent down to turn off the Playstation 2.

"Hey come on!" Cloud said dropping his controller.

She shut off the game and I dropped my controller as well.

"C'mon," I said, "We were trying to save the planet of Naboo!"

Tifa rose an eyebrow.

"Yeah!" Cloud added, "We were trying to save it from the evil clutches of the Sith!"

Tifa looked at us confused.

"Okay?" She said confused putting her hands on her hips. I looked over at Cloud who started staring at her figure, "How about we save _our _planet, From the evil clutches of _Shinra_?"

Me and Cloud groaned in protest, then stood up.

"Thanks guys," Tifa said making a big smile, "We leave for Sector 5 in about an hour, so be prepared."

She went outside of the room then went downstairs. We listened closely, to make sure she was gone. We heard nothing.

"Ready for another round of Capture the Flag?" I asked smirking.

"Hell yeah!" Cloud said picking up his controller.

I bent down to turn on the Playstation 2, then I heard the door open. I looked behind my back to see Tifa with her hands on her hips and an angry face. I laughed awkwardly, then stood up straight. I stepped away from the game console, then Tifa made a quick smile and left. This time she was gone for real. I sighed not being able to play the game.

"She's so hot when she's angry," Cloud said. I smirked then looked at the kid.

"Why don't you tell her how you feel?" I asked, "I'm sure she likes you back."

"She kinda does," Cloud said, "But we're like almost best friends."

I nodded in understanding.

"Try doing something to..." I began, trying to think of something, "...Like something to surprise her, before anybody else tries to. Because if you don't do something soon, she might get over you... And when another guy surprises her, well... It's bad."

Cloud nodded.

"You're absolutely right," He said, "I mean... before I left Nibelheim to join SOLDIER, me and Tifa were like...12? I don't remember, but a bunch of guys would always try to flirt with her, and I would get jealous." I nodded, that kind of thing always happened to me, "That's why I would always get in fights. I always had this fear that she would choose one of those other guys and not me. Like master Yoda says, 'Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate-'"

"'...leads to suffering.'." I finished. Cloud nodded.

"That's part of the reason why I joined SOLDIER," Cloud explained, "I wanted to get rid of that fear... Even if that means I had to leave the one I love."

I nodded... Cloud was smarter than I thought. I put my hand on his shoulder.

"If it's meant to be," I began, "It will happen."

Our right hands grabbed each other and we pulled in for a hug.

"Oh yeah," I said pulling away, "I got you something."

I walked over to the closet of the room and opened it. I saw my old sword that I would use before I got the buster sword from Angeal. I grabbed it and walked over to Cloud, then I handed it to him.

"It's my old sword from SOLDIER," I said as he took it from me and looked at it, "You are still my living legacy."


	7. Chapter VII: From Flower Girl to Fighter

**Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy or its compilations, they all belong to Squaresoft and Square Enix.**

**Chapter VII: From Flower Girl to Fighter  
><strong>

We were in Seventh Heaven about one hour after it had closed. We were getting ready to destroy the Mako reactor in Sector 5. Though we had some unfinished business. Everyone waited outside the bar while me and Barret were trying to persuade Kunsel to join AVALANCHE.

"So are you gonna join us?" Barret asked Kunsel who still seemed to still be loyal to SOLDIER.

"I don't care about the damn planet," He retorted back, "Just kill me. I'd rather die then join you AVALANCHE terrorists."

Barret pointed his gun in anger at Kunsel, and he flew back falling on the ground. Even though Kunsel was the enemy, he was still my friend. Barret pointed the gun just inches to Kunsel's face.

"Killing your ass will be easy," Barret said as his gun clicked, "We will show your dead body to Shinra."

Kunsel gulped. I couldn't stand to see my old friend get killed.

"Barret wait!" I yelled as I tried to stop the man, but it was too late. Barret had already shot Kunsel in the face. Blood was rolling down his forehead and onto the ground. I looked at his body in shock. So much killing. I have lost a number of my friends. Angeal... Genesis... and now my old friend Kunsel. I felt wet tears start to roll down my cheeks and on to the side of my lips. Barret put a hand on my shoulder, I turned around to see him looking calm.

"Come now," He said quietly, "Let's get his body out of here."

I sobbed, trying to hide the fact that Barret had killed one of my friends. He gave him no mercy. I lifted Kunsel up by his shoulders, while Barret did his legs. As we pushed the door, we saw the others staring at Kunsel in horror. We buried his body briefly by the bar, and Aerith made some praying hands, hoping that he would make it back to the lifestream.

"Okay team," Barret said after we were done burying the body, "let's get on the train."

Barret led the way, but I stayed back at the dead body for a bit longer. Though he was my enemy, I couldn't help but remember some memories we had together.

"_Congratulations for finally getting 1st."_

I felt Aerith's hand touch my shoulder, I looked back to see her smiling at me.

"Come on now," She said grabbing my hand, "I'll need my hero with me at all times right?"

I smiled at her.

"Don't be stupid tonight," I told her. She giggled, "I am the hero, I don't want you to put yourself in the line of fire... alright?"

Aerith giggled softly then grabbed my head and pulled me in for a kiss.

"Hurry up!" I heard Barret's voice while we were kissing, "That's enough kissing for one night you love chocobos."

We pulled away from the kiss then ran up to the group.

* * *

><p>"We need to get off this train before they make the security check," Tifa told us as we were on the train, "Cloud come here, I wanna show you the map of Midgar."<p>

I elbowed the blonde telling him to 'break the ice' with the girl. He looked back at me and smiled shaking his head. Barret was laying back on one of the train's isles, Aerith was looking out the window at the Shinra building. I came up behind her and put my hands around her waist. She looked back in surprise, but she calmed down when she realized it was me.

"How's your flower business going?" I asked her, "I've seen a lot of flowers around Midgar since I came back here."

"It's been going great," She said looking back out the window, "I've been selling them pretty cheap, like one gil a piece." My eyes widened in shock, one gil? "Lot's of people have been buying it, I make about 50 to 60 gil a day."

"So you're rich then," I said hoping that Aerith didn't just give the money away.

"I guess you can say so," She said, "Money doesn't always buy happiness, in fact, I was never happy selling those flowers while you were gone. I only enjoyed it when you were there to help me sell them. You sell the with me after this mission."

I nodded. So she did miss me.

Then all of a sudden, the alarms go off.

**TYPE A SECURITY ALERT. UNIDENTIFIED PASSENGERS CONFIRMED... A SEARCH OF ALL CARS WILL BE CONDUCTED!**

"Let's get our asses out of here!" Barret ordered as he jumped from his seat, going to the next car.

I grabbed Aerith's hand and ran right behind Barret. We moved from car to car until we came to the last one. The search was eventually going to get to us so we decided to jump.

Soon, we jumped off the train, and after finding our way through the train's railways, we finally made it to the reactor.

"Okay team, same plan," Barret said, "Except this time I will be with Zack and Aerith, and Cloud will stay at the entrance with Tifa."

Cloud and Tifa nodded, then stood cover at the entrance.

Then I noticed that Aerith didn't have anything to protect herself with.

"Aerith," I said to her, "Don't you need something to protect yourself with?"

The put her hands behind her back and smiled.

"I have you to protect me."

"Hey!" Barret said a number of feet away, "Let's go!"

I sighed then looked around to find something that could be used as a weapon. I turned around and saw a pipe. I used my sword to cut it off. Then, I held it in my hand and it was light enough for Aerith, I hoped. I handed it to her.

"Let's kick some SOLDIER ass," I said then we both ran up to follow Barret.

We climbed up some ladders which led us to a ventilation system. It took a while, but we found our way through. When we came down, we were instantly ambushed by four Shinra SOLDIERS. I put Aerith behind my arm hopefully protecting her. Barret fired his gun at the SOLDIERS, but one of them was too fast for Barret's rounds. I ran up with my buster sword and slashed him horizontally, though he had dodged it and he kicked my face which caused me to fall down on the floor. Then he was headed for Aerith. Damn!

I looked at Aerith who had a determined look on her face. She wasn't scared. She dropped the pipe by her and put her hands together.

"Aerith! What are you doing? !" I screamed at her. I can't believe it, I wasn't there to protect her.

Then the next thing I knew, the ground started to shake. It was an earthquake. Then the ground gave in below the SOLDIER and he fell through. The earthquake quickly subsided. I looked up at Aerith trying to get up, and I saw her picking up her pipe and brushing off her dress. She smiled at me.

"Oh yeah!" Barret said jumping up and down, "She is the bomb! We should have recruited her a long time ago! Damn!"

Aerith's cheeks turned red. I smiled at her.

"Okay," Barret said being serious now, "Let's bring this mother****** down!"

I shook my head. He never cusses like that around Marlene so why should he do it anywhere else? I took Aerith's hand and ran with her. We were then soon confronted by more SOLDIERS. About 100 this time. My jaw dropped. I haven't seen an army of SOLDIERS this large since... I almost died.

"Any of you guys carry a Phoenix Down?" Barret said worried.

"Now's not the time to give up!" I screamed running up to the nearest SOLDIER, "You won't kill me this time!"

* * *

><p><strong>Cloud's Point of View<strong>

"This is so damn boring!" Tifa said angrily while punching the wall of the reactor, "This was just like last time! I never get any action."

I ran my hand through my hair and leaned on my left foot. Though she was hot when she's angry, she's also very annoying.

"I do everything Barret asks me!" Tifa continued, "But he's always shooting his ****ing gun at all these ****ing Shinra SOLDIERS, which causes me to not approach them!... But I don't hate him," She started to calm down now, "He was always a good leader, and a good father... Did you know that I've always wanted to be a mother?"

I opened my mouth to say something, but then she continued on.

"I've always wanted to have a baby girl. I want to name her Hailie," She paused, then chuckled, "but that's not happening... Nobody thinks I'm attractive. Big breasts aren't enough apparently. Cloud, am I attractive to you."

I opened my mouth. Of course, she was as beautiful as any angel out there. But she stopped me in my tracks again.

"Wait," She said biting her lip, "Maybe I shouldn't ask you that. You're like my bestfriend, of course you're gonna say I'm attractive, you're supposed to," She sighed. Is she ever gonna let me talk? I saw my chance but she interrupted me again, "Aerith is lucky, she found the love of her life. She even had sex with Zack... I've always wanted to experience that."

I figured out that talking wasn't gonna make her shut up, so I had to do something.

"If only life were a movie," She continued, "I wanna have a real boyfriend... None of those assholes back in Nibelheim, but you were never one of them Cloud, you were always so - -"

I pressed my lips to hers which caused her words to muffle on my lips. Finally, my first kiss, but did it really count? I expected her to pull away from me, but surprisingly, she didn't. In fact she opened her mouth and put her tongue in my mouth. I did the same. After another few seconds of kissing, we finally pulled away.

I felt my cheeks burn up, and Tifa's were also. I ran my hand through my hair again.

"...Sweet," Tifa said finishing her sentence. She smiled at me, but then looked away... What an awkward moment. But hey, I finally kissed the love of my life.

**Okay, sorry about the late update you guys... :P I have been very lazy, and the reviews came in slow. If this chapter seemed like it went too fast, or it was just plain bad, then it probably was... I just wasn't in the mood for writing this week. I'll make it up in the next update. But that's besides the point. I would like to thank Mizu, and SquallIsBest for reviewing every chapter in my story so far. Thanks. You guys ROCK!**


	8. Chapter VIII: Broken Hearts Beating

READ IF YOU WANT TO POWER MY NEXT STORY: Hey, my fellow readers. How would you like to get involved with my next story "The Advent Children Show". (NOTE: The name might be changed in the future). When you review the story, you can ask any of the characters from Final Fantasy VII a question, it could be anything. OR, you can dare one of the characters to do something. ANYTHING. Ask anything you want, and ask as much as you want! I'll include EVERY entry! The "Show" will be hosted by ME. So I need your guys' help for this, and I will include your names in your entries. If this proves successful then... Yea... If it doesn't, oh well. So anyway, back to this story! Enjoy!

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything that Squaresoft or Square Enix owns. That includes Final Fantasy VII and it's compilations.**

**Chapter VIII: Broken Hearts Beating**

"Son of a bitch!" I screamed as I sliced the last SOLDIER across the stomach. He fell to the ground. I looked behind me too see Aerith over Barret's body in attempt to heal him. I quickly ran up to see the damage. There were bullets through his chest and there was blood running down his face. Surprisingly, he was still breathing.

"Zack," He said trying to ignore the pain, "I'm not gonna make it."

"Yes you are Barret," I said trying to encourage him to move on, "We can't lose you, you're our leader."

"I never should've killed Kunsel," He forced out, "You and Cloud will lead us. AVALANCHE must live on."

Aerith soon started to sob then tears started to roll down her face. She needed to heal Barret the same way she cured me.

"Aerith," I said, "You should cure him the same way you did to cure me."

"I don't know how I even did it," She said, "I never figured out what I have to do."

Was it love that gave her the power to cure my wounds?

"Aerith," Barret coughed out, "don't waste your energy on me... Zack..." I nodded then got closer to his face, "I want you to live for me... Live for AVALANCHE... Be my living legacy."

"Barret..." I whispered. I couldn't believe it, he was gonna die, "No, you're not gonna die, at least not here! We're taking you out of here."

I lifted up his body as carefully as I could.

"Aerith," I said, "Go plant the bomb, I need to take Barret to Cloud and Tifa."

She nodded then started towards the reactor. I started running back to the entrance, I tried not to hurt Barret.

"Zack," He said, "What are you doing?"

"I'm saving your ass, that's what I'm doing."

I heard Barret grunt as I tried climbing the ladder with with him on my back.

Please don't die. I thought to myself. I can't afford to lose another friend.

Though it was hard, I got him into the air vent and I tried pushing him through.

"Dammit Barret," I said angrily, "You're too huge it's hard to save your life."

I eventually got him through, and surprisingly he was still breathing. He was definitely strong. I climbed down the ladder with him on my back, and when I got down, I put Barret down and I called for Cloud and Tifa. Hopefully they'll be able to hear me.

Sure enough they came running in. When they reached me they looked at Barret in shock.

"Barret," Cloud was the first to speak, and he knelt down by his body, "What happened?"

"I...," Barret started to struggle with his words, "A SOLDIER almost shot Aerith... I got in front of... the rounds..."

Holy crap! I totally forgot about Aerith. I cursed out loud. There goes my promise.

"Cloud... Tifa," Barret began again, "Take care of Marlene... Tell her I love her... Be real good to her... Make sure she goes to school..."

"Barret..." Tifa said as she started crying.

At that same moment a machine ambushed us. It was an air buster, I remembered fighting one in the training room when I was still in SOLDIER. Then I saw Aerith run up behind the machine.

"Aerith!" I yelled trying to get her attention, "What ever you do, don't attack it from behind."

I saw her nod. She was on the other side. Alone. With no one to protect her. I should be there, so I can keep my promise.

Cloud soon started to cast some fire magic on the Air Buster. I cast some lightning on him. Then the machine started to turn around.

"Hold your fire!" I screamed.

Aerith was already ready when the Air Buster turned around. She cast a lightning spell on it.

* * *

><p><strong>Barret's Point of View<strong>

I forced my eyes open for a split second. I saw the huge machine. Damn! Why do the Shinra people always have to have all the good stuff?

I managed to get my right arm up and I pointed my gun at the machine while he had his back turned to us. Tifa was by my side, I could feel her presence. Then I pointed my gun at the huge monster and shot his back with a couple rounds.

"Barret no!" I heard Zack yell. Surely it wasn't gonna be good. Zack got in front of me and I heard some bullets hit his sword.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Cloud fall back from an unknown explosion. I saw Aerith behind the machine looking scared. She had her pipe in front of her in attempt to protect her. Zack was screaming. I had to do something before anyone else could get hurt.

I then remembered about the limit break. I could do a big shot at that machine and it could blow it up for sure... But the recoil could have me killed... I was gonna die anyway. So mind as well.

With all my strength I got up on one foot and I laid my knee on the ground and I pointed my arm at the machine. I heard the others screaming at me, they were telling me to stop, but I ignored them as I felt my arm charge the big shot.

"For AVALANCHE," I forced out, then let the shot take flight. The recoil threw me back and I hit the wall...

I see a long black haired angel with white wings come down and get me. I want some wings too...

* * *

><p><strong>Zack's Point of View<strong>

"Barret stop!" I said as I knew he was doing his limit break, "No!"

He shot the Air Buster at its head and it started electrocuting itself.

I looked back to see Barret, but he wasn't there. I looked over and I saw him on the floor next to the dented wall. I ran over to him with the others by my side. I look at Aerith and I see a few scratches on her arm and face.

"You okay?" I asked her.

She briefly nodded then ran over to Barret.

"Barret no!" Tifa yelled as she started sobbing. I knelt by his body and looked at him, he was dead. With Cloud losing Barret was like me losing Angeal.

Not willing to control my anger I ran up to the machine who looked like it was about to blow and I stabbed the sword into it. It stopped hovering and it fell to the floor. Then I took the sword out.

"Zack! It's gonna explode!" I heard Aerith yell to me, and sure enough it did. The impact blew a hole in the narrow path and I fell through. I grabbed one of the support bars, and looked down. Big mistake. It looked like I was a thousand feet high, then I looked away so I wouldn't scare myself. I used all my strength to keep me hanging, though I couldn't hold on for much longer.

"The reactor's gonna blow!" I heard Cloud say, "We need to get out of here."

"Zack!" I heard Aerith say as she knelt by the edge of the giant hole, "You can't die! There's so much more I want to tell you! I can't lose you again!"

"You won't," I said smiling, "Don't talk like this is the end. Barret told me that me and Cloud are gonna lead AVALANCHE, but right now, it's just Cloud. Tell him that for me."

I could see tears in Aerith's eyes. I knew for sure that I wasn't gonna die, but she didn't know.

Then I heard the reactor blow up. I tried my best to hold on but the explosion made the floor shake which caused me lose my grip and I fell. I heard Aerith yell out my name.

While I was falling I saw Angeal, Kunsel, and Barret. They all had wings, and then they started carrying me.

"Am I dead?" I asked silently.

Barret shook his head at me.

"You're gonna live," He told me.

* * *

><p><strong>Cloud's Point of View<strong>

The explosion made Zack fall. It should have been me down there instead of him. I hope he's okay. He's strong, so he should be alright.

Tifa and Aerith were crying as we carried Barret's body out of the building. Though he was heavy, I didn't care. I couldn't believe it. And what about Marlene? We got on the train and we set Barret's body down on one of the seats. I finally realized that we left a trail of Barret's blood. But we couldn't think of that right now.

The other passengers moved to a different car because they were freaked out at the dead body. When we made it to Seventh Heaven, we dug a hole and put his body in. Then we buried him.

This time I realized that I was the one leading AVALANCHE. Aerith told me it was Barret's will. I looked over at Tifa who was kneeling by Barret's body with Marlene.

"I promise I'll take care of Marlene," I said to Barret. Then I looked over at Aerith who was sobbing. Then she looked at me.

"He saved my life," She said, "I should have been me that died, not him..."

I shook my head. What a wrong thing to say. Barret was a true hero. I took out my sword and put my head by the handle and closed my eyes. I remembered what Zack had said to me when we were still in SOLDIER.

"Embrace your dreams, and whatever happens, protect your honor... As AVALANCHE!"

**Barret was a good man, and a good father. Tell me what you guys think. And also, tell me if you're interested in participating in my new story/show or whatever you wanna call it. Keep the reviews coming, you're the reason why I'm still writing.**


	9. Chapter IX: The Other AVALANCHE

**Disclaimer: I do not profit from anything related to Final Fantasy VII or this story.**

I'd like to thank everyone who reviewed up to this point. Without you guys, I would've stopped writing this story a long time ago. Also, I understand how boring this story is for some people who've played the game a million times, so after this chapter, I'll be fast forwarding.

**Chapter IX: The Other AVALANCHE**

"_Hey..." _I heard that familiar husky male voice_._

"Barret..." I said while I was somewhat dreaming, "How are those wings?"

"_They're great," _He replied proudly,_ "but you won't be needing them just yet."_

"Wait," I said thinking I was supposed to be dead, "What do you mean? Am I still alive?"

"_Defeat Sephiroth," _This time I heard Angeal's voice_._

"Angeal wait!" I shouted desperately for him, "Wait Angeal! ANGEAL!"

"_Zack!" _I heard him say,_ "Zack... Zack!"_

He kept saying my name, but then I realized that it wasn't Angeal, as the voice became gradually higher pitched.

"Zack!" I heard that beautiful voice shouting right in front of me, "Zack! Please wake up!"

I struggled to open my eyes, then the shouting stopped as she noticed me stirring.

"Aerith," I forced out as my voice was very hoarse. That was when I was able to open my eyes, and I saw the beautiful girl's face. Then at the corner of my eye, I saw Cloud and Tifa looking at me with relief.

I stood up and I realized that I was inside the church standing on the flower bed. I then realized where I was standing and I sidestepped away from the flowers. Aerith stood up next to me. I turned my body so that I was facing her. I opened my mouth to say something, but I was interrupted.

Aerith lifted up her right hand and slapped my cheek across the face.

"Don't you ever scare me like that again, Zack Fair!" She exclaimed. Her chin started to tremble and she started crying. I touched the place where she had slapped me and it was starting to swell up.

"Aerith," I said quietly, then she jumped into my arms for a tight hug. I accepted it, and held her in tightly. I then figured out that I hadn't kept my promise.

"I'm sorry," I apologized closing my eyes shut trying to block out any tears, "I couldn't keep my promise back there."

Aerith lifted her head off my chest and looked up at me with a raised eyebrow and a smile. She thumped my head lightly and giggled wiping off her tears. Now I was confused, one minute she was crying, then after I tell her I'm sorry, she's giggling?

"What'd you do that for?" I said rubbing my head after we broke away from our hug.

"When you said that you promised you'd never leave me," She said as she began tilting her head and putting her hands behind her back, "That doesn't necessarily mean you have to be within an inch close to me."

I felt my face start to burn up, and I made an awkward laugh. Aerith giggled.

I looked over at Tifa and Cloud who were laughing as well. Then at that same moment I saw a man run into the church breathing heavily as if he had ran here from outside of Midgar.

"Biggs!" Tifa said to the man running up to him, "What's wrong?"

"The Sector 7 pillar," He said trying desperately to breathe, "The plate is gonna fall..."

My eyes widened after I heard that.

"Wait!" I said running up to the man who was crouching down, "Why is gonna fall?"

"AVALANCHE," He said choking on his breath, "Shinra..."

Then he fell to the floor.

"What do you mean?" I said trying to get details.

"Biggs," Cloud and Tifa said shaking his his eyes were open, he wasn't breathing, "Biggs!"

"He died of exhaustion," I said remembering what had happened to some of the Shinra SOLDIERS during training.

"This has got to stop," Tifa whispered trying to fight tears, "We can't afford to lose anymore lives."

Tifa then immediately runs out of the church.

"Tifa, wait!" Cloud exclaimed while running after her.

Me and Aerith went after them. Why would Shinra drop one of their plates to destroy a part of their city? It just didn't make sense? Is this their reaction to AVALANCHE's acts?

We soon reached a crowd of people by the Sector 7 pillar. Some people started running away towards the exit. We finally caught up to Tifa and we pushed through the crowd towards the fence. It was already open, and we heard gunshots up above.

"Hey Tifa," I said to the girl who was looking up with angry eyes, "Who was Biggs anyway?"

"He was just a member of AVALANCHE," She explained through her teeth, "He doesn't fight with us though."

I nodded. So AVALANCHE was a bigger organization than I thought.

"We're going up there," Cloud said.

"Aerith," Tifa says, "Marlene -"

"Don't worry," Aerith said as she read Tifa's mind, "I'll put her somewhere safe."

Tifa nodded, then the three of us ran inside the gates and up the stairs. I took the lead with Tifa behind me, and Cloud behind her. I felt a good feeling to have them alongside me. On the way, we fought some SOLDIER 1st class easily, then continued onward. Soon we met a girl laying on the stairs with blood all over her, though she was still breathing.

"Jesse," Tifa said running past me and to the girl, "Not you too."

"Please," The girl said struggling, "Don't worry about me... You have to stop Shinra."

A determined Tifa then ran ahead of us. She was too fast for even me and Cloud as former SOLDIERs. She met some more enemies along the way, but she beat them down easily and kept running ahead.

"Tifa! Wait!" Cloud yelled after her as we struggled to keep up.

She then stopped, so we managed to catch up to her, but she was kneeling to yet another body.

"Tifa," The man said, "It was great fighting alongside you."

"Wedge..." Tifa said briefly then ran up the stairs till she reached the top of the pillar.

Me and Cloud hurried up to the top to see Tifa get whacked in the face with a metal rod, she fell to the ground in front of us, then she stood back up. The person who had the rod was a Turk who had red hair.

"Well well well," He said smirking at the three of us, "If it isn't another one of AVALANCHE's members in attempt to stop Shinra."

I held up my sword. Turks were very skilled when it came to fighting. Cloud did the same. The Turk looked at me in a surprised expression, then he smirked.

"You," He said pointing his rod at me, "You were that target that disappeared when Shinra attacked you... You're still alive."

This man's tone of voice was getting on my nerves.

"Of course I'm alive!" I shouted which made him step back, but then he smirked again.

"I heard you killed hundreds of SOLDIERs that day," He said tapping his rod against him palm, "But let's see how you fight against me!"

The Turk made a fighting stance. I recognized this man now, his name is Reno, he was one of Cissnei's friends as a Turk. I made a fighting stance as well, and so did the others.

I ran up to Reno which stood there casually. Then I did a vertical slice with my sword, but he moved out of the way, that was when Tifa did a round kick which hit his rib, and then he whacked Tifa's face to the ground again with the rod.

"Hey!" Tifa exclaimed as she got up.

Reno laughed, then Cloud went up behind him when he was still laughing. Cloud swung his sword but Reno did a back flip which made Cloud miss completely. I ran up to the Turk while he was still in mid air and kicked his face which made him fall to the ground. Just when I was about to finish him off, he screamed,

"Pyramid!" When he said that, an invisible pyramid surrounded my body. I couldn't move at all. I tried cutting it with my sword but my sword ended up bouncing back.

I then saw a helicopter with a few people standing on the edge of it with a ladder hanging down. I saw Reno climb it. When I looked at who was in the helicopter, I saw Aerith!

I screamed her name, which made it through the pyramid surrounding me. She was being held by two other Turks, one of them I recognized... Cissnei. The other was Tseng

Cissnei and Tseng looked at me with a surprised expression.

"Zack!" Aerith called to me from the chopper, "You better come for me me!"

I screamed her name as loud as I could while pounding my fists up against the pyramid.

"Marlene is okay," Aerith said one last time before the helicopter flew away. I watched her go... They really took her... And I wasn't there to protect her.

I screamed and I tried destroying the pyramid that was surrounding me. Before I knew it, the thing broke, and I realized Cloud broke it from the outside. That's when the ground started shaking.

"They're dropping the plate!" Tifa said as she was holding on to the railing.

"What are we gonna do?" Cloud said trying to keep his balance.

My first thought was 'we're all gonna die', but then I realized that I need to save Aerith from Shinra. So I tried to figure out a way to get out alive. Running down the stairs would take too long, and jumping off the pillar would put us to our death. That's when I remembered the wire. Me and Kunsel would always ride on that thing for fun when we were still in SOLDIER.

I ran up to the wire and told everyone to hang on. I saw Cloud grab on to the wire and I noticed Tifa holding on to him from behind. If I wasn't here with them right now, Cloud and Tifa would make a nice 'The Legend of Zorro' reenactment when they were escaping from the explosion, but that wasn't the case. I felt the plate start to collapse so I pushed off the railing with my feet and we escaped the fall of the plate just in time. We landed in the kids' park. I got up then I looked back at the entrance to Sector 7, but it was blocked of by a bunch of debris. All those innocent people! Why would Shinra drop the plate on them?

I punched some of the debris with my fist.

"Damn it all!" I yelled to the sky, "Why did it all have to happen like this?"

"Marlene," Tifa whispered as she was crying, "She's gone."

I started hitting the debris harder, so many lives have been taken from Shinra...

"Don't worry, Tifa," I heard Cloud comfort, "Aerith said she's safe."

Tifa stopped crying then got back up. I guess we had to go find Marlene, Aerith would've most likely taken her to her house, so that's where we should go.

From this moment on, Shinra... SOLDIER... I hate them all...

**So sorry about the late update. I actually came across carpal tunnel syndrome... That doesn't surprise me because I type a lot, I text people a lot, and I play guitar... But, I guess resting solved some of the symptoms. "The Advent Children Show", which is another on of my fics, has been pretty successful, which surprises me. My friends seem to enjoy it, and readers on fanfiction enjoy it too, I guess they like a parody of a talk show with all the Final Fantasy VII characters in it. Well anyway, to everyone who reviewed this story so far... I love you!**


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